Minimum Viable Whatever

MVP misconceptions: Why it’s so much more than just a quick release and how to avoid the poop trap

Photo by Strange Happenings on Pexels.

How can two fairly similar scenarios end up with two vastly different assessments of what’s the minimum viable approach — and still arguably be the right decision, perfectly aligned with the Minimum Viable Product, MVP, process?

And how do we even define what minimum viable means?

To paraphrase Carl Sagan, if you wish to make an apple pie from scratch you must first invent the universe. So let’s start from the beginning:

Communication.

Communication is hard. Almost impossible. But words matter. And that’s not typically the sort of combination that sets us up for success.

Or in other words, as stated by Wiio’s laws:

“Communication usually fails, except by accident. If a message can be interpreted in several ways, it will be interpreted in a manner that maximizes confusion.”

There’s a lot more to it than that, so I strongly suggest you go read the full set of laws (“If communication seems to succeed in the intended way, there’s a misunderstanding” is one of my personal favorites).